Bengals' coach Marvin Lewis' staff is one of the best in the NFL

The last time the Cincinnati Bengals were featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” in 2009, they went on to finish 10-6 and won the AFC North. Four years later coming out of training camp, they are built as a better potential division winner.

Tuesday’s season finale had the usual drama involving injuries and the roster bubble, putting an end to the many compelling stories for several lesser-known names. But it also reminded us the Bengals are loaded with young talent, and driven for big things in ’13:

The Bengals’ coaching staff is one of the league’s best. Only the Patriots’ Bill Belichick has longer head-coaching tenure than Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati. What’s made him a better coach a decade-plus into the job are his current coordinators, Mike Zimmer (defense since 2008) and Jay Gruden (offense since 2011). We already knew all three men were creative and smart schemers, but “Hard Knocks” showed they also are pretty darn good at motivating their players.

While Lewis is the calm yet stern leader, Zimmer succeeds with a bit of tough love. Gruden is more the demanding straight shooter, but players respond to him putting them in the best positions to succeed.

When you consider positional coaches such as Hue Jackson (running backs) and Ken Zampese (quarterbacks), it’s an impressive group that can stack up to any other team across the board.

It should be a relief they locked up their best lineman and the league’s premier tackle, Geno Atkins, to a well-deserved five-year contract. Good thing he has a 55-million-dollar smile to match.

The Bengals’ defensive line is also deep and scary. We saw Terrence Stephens, an undrafted rookie tackle out of Stanford, get released with the reasoning “it’s a tough group to break into.” No kidding. Under Zimmer, Cincinnati has both a ferocious edge pass rush and is mighty inside against the run. It’s not fair they have explosive 6-8 rookie Margus Hunt doing his best Ivan Drago to terrify quarterbacks and ball-carriers -- while coming off the bench.

The Bengals’ got just the attitude they needed from James Harrison. Harrison finally got his chance to turn the tables on the “Hard Knocks” cameras in the closing credits. After years starring for the division rival Steelers, his bad-ass reputation should be welcome to remain in a physically brutal and mentally tougher AFC North. He may not be able to contribute the sacks and big plays like he once could, but his presence at linebacker will put more “nasty” into an already dominant defense.

Dane Sanzenbacher isn’t just a fun name, he can be a key player. The undrafted gem from Ohio State was born in Maumee, went to high school in Toledo, and after signing with Cincinnati last Christmas, he will now stick as a wide receiver with his home-state Bengals. The Bears let this potential slot ace get away, and guess where his current team plays in Week 1? Chicago. The Bengals once had high hopes for Jordan Shipley as an inside receiver three years ago, but knee injuries threw a wrench into those plans. Sanzenbacher, wearing No. 11 as Shipley did, does many of the little things right to have a bigger impact than you think on a talented corps.